Go back? There's no going back.

Looking at the employer in front of her who had spent a full 20,000 gold coins just for a specious clue, the bodyguard was silent for a moment and gave a meaningful reminder.

"…Do you know something?"

Hearing this, Su Wei immediately stared at her intently.

"No, I don't know anything about your mother."

"But... have you ever thought that the reason she hasn't contacted you for so long is maybe not because she's in any danger, but because she simply doesn't want to see you again... or something like that?"

Probably well aware that what she had just said was ambiguous, the bodyguard in front of her quickly added another sentence under Su Wei's increasingly confused gaze:

"I once had a friend whose family was very poor. She was separated from her mother when she was very young. She always thought her mother had encountered some difficulties. Until she grew up... she went through untold hardships to find her mother again, but she discovered that she had already formed a new family and even regarded her as a burden. She scolded her and kept driving her away with her newborn child, fearing that her new husband would see her when he returned from work--"

"I mean, uh... before you actually meet your mother, maybe you could lower your expectations a bit...?"

As she said this, recalling her friend's face of despair at that time, which was still impressive to this day, Klina felt a little pain in her heart and became a little nagging for a moment.

"…It's okay. You don't have to worry about that."

But just as she finished speaking, the next second, Klina heard the employer's particularly firm voice in her ears.

"If that's what you said, doesn't that mean Mom has been living a good life these past few years? Then what else can I be dissatisfied with?"

"You know what, this result seems pretty good. If you don't want to see her, then don't bother her. I can just leave by myself and not cause her any trouble. This result is really pretty good..."

“…Yes.”

Hearing this, Klina silently glanced at the employer whose pupils were dull and who had obviously fallen into a brief fantasy and felt like he was about to explode Little Pearl in the next second: "Do you want a tissue?"

"…Need not."

Later, realizing that this topic was not suitable for further discussion, after the employer's emotions stabilized, Klina changed the topic unnoticeably.

A topic that she thought was more relaxed and interesting.

Then, it was at this moment that Su Wei, who had just calmed down, noticed that the bodyguard he hired tonight... seemed to have a strange interest in the slums.

To be more precise, they showed an above-average interest in certain phenomena in the slums.

"I heard that in the slums, boys will also fall in love with other boys. Is this true?"

Walking on the mountain road, she asked him this with a curious look on her face.

"No, you're probably overthinking it... There's no romance, only love."

Su Wei pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, his eyes became slightly serious, and said this.

"You just said that you also lived there since childhood, so who do you like now? Is it a boy or a girl?"

After hearing Su Wei's response, the bodyguard lady was stunned for a moment, and then she asked him with her eyes flickering.

"I like my mom!... or my dad?"

Su Wei was silent for a moment, then he spoke in a firm tone.

"Hmm?? So will you be with a boy or a girl in the future?"

"I listen to my mother."

Su Wei did not hesitate.

Although he gradually became annoyed by the questions, perhaps because the bodyguards were qualified, Su Wei did not encounter any danger until he reached halfway up the mountain.

Even the several common wandering magical beasts in the mountains have never been seen.

However, after reaching the mountainside, when Su Wei was observing the obviously more rugged uphill route ahead, the bodyguard beside him was suddenly stunned, grabbed him, and quickly ran to hide behind an ancient tree in the woods beside him.

Later, just as the girl released her magic power with a serious face and constructed a small translucent barrier to wrap up the two of them, Su Wei heard a heavy sound of footsteps.

Su Wei also subconsciously held his breath, turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound.

Then, his gaze suddenly froze.

Because, at this moment, on the mountain path where the two of them were originally standing, a tall and burly figure was slowly walking towards them.

The ground beneath his feet began to shake slightly, and when Su Wei saw the figure clearly, his heartbeat quickened for no reason.

Angular lines, sturdy muscles like a dragon, heavy iron chains firmly wrapped around the neck and ankles, and... the iconic bull-head mask.

In fact, at this moment, in the other person's big hand, there was a ragged man who seemed to have lost consciousness.

There is no doubt that this person is the target that Su Wei is looking for on this trip up the mountain - the Ox Head and the Strong Man!

Chapter 18: All Undead

"is it him?"

Although she had never seen the person Su Wei was looking for when he ventured up the mountain, after observing Su Wei's reaction, Klina leaned close to his ear and asked in a slightly lowered voice, "Did you come here to find that person this time?"

"Well, I finally found it."

Su Wei nodded.

Then, there was a brief silence around him.

"Is that kind of person...a very popular type in the slums?"

"Ah?"

The next second, he suddenly heard a small murmur in his ear, and Su Wei was stunned at first.

Then, as if he suddenly realized something, he turned his head to look at the girl beside him.

Then he discovered that the latter was looking at him with a subtle and even worried look.

At this moment, a guy with wrong thoughts said nothing, but it seemed like he said everything.

"...Anyway, please think of a solution first. I want to follow him and see where he ends up."

Seeing this, Su Wei sighed and didn't waste time explaining.

“…Yes! No problem, follow me. In my concealment screen, as long as you don’t move, he won’t be able to find us.”

After a moment of silence, Klina nodded, reached out to hold Su Wei, and walked out from behind the tree together.

Surrounded by the magic light curtain, the two of them kept a certain distance and followed the strong man in front of them, gradually coming to a fairly flat open space.

However, he was different from the strong man who relaxed as if he were back home after returning to this area.

Now, Su Wei and the other man were hiding behind a bush, and with the help of the dim moonlight, they could secretly see the scenery on the open space... Their faces turned a little ugly.

……people.

A lot of people.

At this moment, in this not-too-wide open space at the waist of the Roseau Mountains, the crowd gathered together as densely as locusts.

Either crawling or wriggling.

Creepy low growls and whimpers kept escaping from their mouths, and they were squeezed into the narrow space in all kinds of weird and twisted postures.

Su Wei was not very good at math, but just from this glance, he felt that the number of people here was at least over four digits.

At this moment, even the bodyguard who had been keeping a relaxed attitude beside him turned serious.

She had noticed that the number of people gathered here was far greater than the number of missing persons counted recently.

What’s more important is… just now, at the edge of the crowd, Klina saw someone she knew.

Shirley.

A girl who was helpless and homeless, and was even abandoned by her mother for the second time after growing up...but she still lived on strongly, and went to the Hunter's Guild at the foot of Mount Rosso almost every day to work and study.

Even the new uniform she was wearing at the moment was originally supposed to be worn by her...

Without saying a word, she quietly stared at the other person's now lifeless appearance. At this moment, Klina's whole body stiffened slightly, and she felt an indescribable chill crawling up her spine.

It's not just because I met familiar friends here.

But it was because this friend...had clearly been buried by her.

Just three days ago.

This girl, whose eyes were gouged out, limbs were broken, and even her abdomen was ripped open, had obviously suffered inhuman torture before her death. Her death was extremely miserable... She was thrown at the gate of the Hunter's Guild and was not discovered until the early morning.

That day, she buried her with her own hands.

But now, the other party appeared here.

Even the eyes, limbs, and even the cut open abdomen became intact again...

No, that's not right!

Klina quickly realized that what she was seeing was not Shirley's body.

If nothing unexpected happens, her body is still buried in the cemetery.

What's here... is her soul.

No, not only her, but all the "people" in this open space at this moment... are undead!

Her whole body shuddered suddenly, as if she finally realized something, and Klina's face changed suddenly.

Because she knows better than anyone who is the mastermind behind all this.

"The reaction is a little slow."

It was at this moment that a frivolous and playful voice suddenly sounded in Klina's ears.

"!?"

In an instant, like a cat with its fur standing on end, Klina's whole body tensed up, and her magic power quickly gathered into a sword in her hand. Then, without even looking back, she swung the sword behind her!

Clang!

Sparks of metal and iron flew in the air, and after repelling the attacker's dagger that was so close to her, Klina broke away and quickly grabbed Su Wei beside her to keep some distance.

"Ah?"

At this moment, Su Wei, who had been staring with wide eyes and trying hard to find a face in the crowd, came to his senses and noticed the danger that had sneaked up behind him at some point.

He was an assassin wearing a tattered cloak and holding two daggers in his hands.

But, for some reason, there was no flesh or blood on the assassin's hands.

No, not just the hands. Through the tattered-looking assassin's cloak, Su Wei discovered that there was not a single piece of flesh on the other person's body.

There are only white bones.

"Focus! The danger now isn't it, it's the woman standing behind it—!"

Hearing the bodyguard's slightly trembling reminder, Su Wei focused his attention and looked behind the assassin.

Then, his breath caught.

Under the bright moonlight, in the originally empty forest, a figure suddenly appeared.

It was a woman covered in a black robe.

Chapter 19: The Witch Who Brings Trouble to the Nation

Roseau Mountains, waist.

"I thought Krenna couldn't sit still so quickly... but it turns out that only two little mice came."

Under the extremely vigilant gaze of Su Wei and Klina, the woman spoke lazily, as if she had just been awakened from a sweet dream, slowly took off her hood, and casually shook her long hair.

The moment he saw the other person's face, Su Wei, who was still in fear of the danger just now, held his breath almost instinctively.

The slightly curly black hair spread out in the moonlight, the woman's slender eyebrows were like the moon, and her half-closed eyes were as quiet and deep as the night sky, captivating.

Her facial features were absolutely flawless, and even wearing a black robe, it couldn't conceal her elegant and perfect curves. The woman in front of him looked so beautiful and stunning.

Su Wei swallowed unconsciously and looked at her in a trance.

For some reason, the moment he saw the woman's appearance, his heartbeat, which had almost doubled in speed due to his narrow escape from death... suddenly calmed down little by little.

An indescribable strange feeling of security slowly emerged from the bottom of my heart.

Although he was in danger, Su Wei felt more at ease at this moment than when he was with the First Princess.

But before this, he had never even seen the other person.

"I'll find a way to hold her back later. Watch out for the signal I give you and seize the opportunity to run down the mountain immediately. Got it?"